The present invention relates to a method of continuous casting generally and more specifically to the making of a mold using a particular alloy for the mold. More particularly, the invention relates to a method using a mold for continuous casting which includes a specific copper alloy.
Molds for continuous casting of high-melting metal, for example for the continuous casting of steel or steel alloys, have for a long time been copper or copper-based molds, particularly copper of the SF-CU type, wherein SF-CU refers to oxygen-free desoxidized copper of a high degree of purity, see for example ISO Standards R1337, because a mold made of such a material exhibits a sufficiently high thermal conductivity for purposes of very rapidly removing the heat content from the melt. The wall thickness of the mold is usually selected to be sufficiently large so that the mold, in addition to the thermal load, can take up in an adequate manner any and all mechanical loads that may be expected.
In order to increase the hot strength of such a mold, it has been suggested to use an alloy which includes at least 80% copper and at least one additional alloying element which hardens the mold on precipitation. Such alloying element can be chromium, silicon, silver, or beryllium, any of these up to 3%. It was found, however, that molds made of such materials are not fully satisfactory, particularly because alloying components silicon and beryllium reduce the thermo-conductivity of copper to a very high degree (see, for example, Austrian patent No. 234 930).